1. Technical Field
The present invention relates generally to seat hinge assemblies and more particularly to a powered fold-flat seat hinge assembly.
2. Discussion
Vehicle markets such as mini-van and sport utility are extremely competitive and a focus for improvement by automobile manufacturers. Specifically, automobile manufacturers seek to improve the overall utility and comfort of the vehicles in these markets in pursuit of attracting and keeping customers. One particular concern of customers is the flexibility a vehicle interior maintains. Flexibility, in this sense, refers to the ability of an interior to provide seating that may be modified to suit a particular customer's needs. For example, a customer might desire the removal of a rear seat to provide increased cargo space, while maintaining a middle seat or seats for additional passengers. Additionally, a passenger might desire the seat back of a front or middle seat to fold down, providing room for cargo.
While providing flexibility seats must also include features for improving occupant ease of use while maintaining safety standards. A particular ease of use feature is the mechanism by which a seat back folds forward relative to a seat. Traditional fold-forward mechanisms include manual latches that release the seat back, enabling an occupant to manually fold the seat back forward. Typically, the seat back folds flat, relative to the seat, and is held in position by the weight of the seat back itself. Further, traditional fold-forward mechanisms only provide a single fold-forward position for the seat back. Additionally, due to the manual nature of traditional fold-forward mechanisms, a vehicle occupant must have direct access to the seat back in order to operate the mechanism. For example, if a driver desired a rear seat to be folded forward, she must exit the vehicle and walk to the desired seat in order to operate the mechanism. Where powered seat hinge assemblies are provided, a first motor unlatches the arm and a second motor rotates the arm forward. This can be a prohibitively expensive and complex arrangement.
It is therefore desirable in the industry to provide a fold-forward mechanism for use with a seat having a seat back that is powered, increasing the ease of use for a vehicle occupant. As such, a powered fold-forward mechanism enables an occupant to remotely fold a seat back forward without having to exit the vehicle and perform the operation manually. Further, it is desired to power the latching and rotation through a single motor.
It is further desirable in the industry to provide a fold-forward mechanism for use with a seat back that enables an occupant to lock the seat back in a desired fold forward position. As such, a seat back could be folded forward while providing sufficient angle to prevent an object from sliding during braking or acceleration.